There’s a well-known saying in netball that’s reflected in Netball Australia Chair Paolina Hunt’s stewardship of the sport – ‘to leave things in better shape than when you first got there’.
Today marks the end of an important era for Netball Australia as Chair Paolina Hunt reflects on the significant changes she’s led for netball. A Director for five years and Chair for four, Hunt’s energy and drive have steered the sport through its greatest period of transformation and growth.
Hunt has overseen dramatic change in netball including a new elite competition, digital transformation and record government investment.
She was also a key player in the recent vastly improved broadcast and digital rights deal that will deliver significant new investment in netball from grassroots to the Origin Australian Diamonds.
A ‘parting gift’ was delivered two weeks ago with the announcement by the International Netball Federation that Australia will host the Netball World Cup in 2027, Netball Australia’s centenary year.
Hunt’s term has been further defined by identifying and addressing sensitive issues within the sport including the lack of elite representation amongst Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander athletes, coaches and officials.
She has challenged netball’s leaders to find constructive ways to work together and to use netball’s influence and reach to create impact beyond the court. This has taken various forms, including netball’s active roles in the Our Watch campaign to address violence against women and children, the Male Champions of Change initiative, the sport’s first Transgender athlete policy and more.
While presiding over a constantly shifting range of demands and imperatives, her biggest test was guiding netball’s response to the impact of the COVID19 pandemic.
Faced with a potentially catastrophic loss of commercial revenue and grassroots engagement, netball was required to challenge its delivery models, staff structures and investment priorities.
The fact that Netball Australia emerged from 2020 in a sound financial position with a range of important programs and initiatives well under way is tribute to her ability to focus netball’s Board, executive team, Member Organisations and many other internal and external stakeholders on the health and future of the game.
In recent months, Hunt has tackled the complex challenge of governance reform through the recommendations of netball’s far-reaching State of the Game Review - an initiative that was planned and delivered under her leadership.
This project saw netball engage with over 500,000 people connected to the sport and captured the voice of more than 10,000 Netball Family members – the largest scale engagement and insights project ever undertaken by netball. It delivered a mandate to the sport to implement significant system reform to ensure netball continues to thrive in an increasingly competitive sports market.
Today’s announcement that Hunt is handing over the reins is the start of Netball’s transition to a new governance model – the formation of a single Board comprising 6 appointed and 3 elected directors to oversee all of the sport’s activities.
The current chair of the Super Netball League Commission, Marina Go, will become chair of the new nine-member Netball Australia Board. The Super Netball League Commission will no longer exist.
Of her successor, Hunt said, “Marina Go is uniquely qualified to drive the growth and ongoing success of netball in Australia. She understands the complexity and nuance of our sport and the environment in which we operate. Netball is in very capable hands.”
Hunt said it had been a privilege to serve the game that she fell in love with at the age of 8.
‘’As a young woman and elite netballer, I was incredibly grateful to have had so many opportunities through netball, yet when asked to join the board in 2012, it was the reach and integrity of what netball does in communities that called to me and led me to contribute at the board level. I wanted to give back to the sport that gave me a ‘safe space’ to develop and celebrate my athletic and leadership capabilities.
“Netball is a powerful social platform that has a unique ability to create connections and bonds between individuals and communities. It’s these connections and the confidence they help create in young girls and women that make our sport so special.
‘’I want to thank the many Board members, management teams past and present, Member Organisations, government, commercial, broadcast and digital partners for seeing the potential of netball and working so hard to fulfil it.
‘’But most of all, I want to thank the many, many thousands of volunteers, club officials, administrators and players – from NetSetGo to the Diamonds – who have provided the impetus and inspiration for my work over the past nine years as a Director.’’
Hunt, who holds a Law degree and MBA from the University of Adelaide, said she would take time to enjoy a few quiet moments before looking for where she can next contribute her energy and skills.
